I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a medical device for introducing a catheter into a blood vessel or the like of a patient.
II. Description of the Prior Art
A medical device called a catheter introducer is known as a device for percutaneous insertion of a catheter into a blood vessel. A catheter introducer is composed of a sheath portion having a sheath and a sheath hub, and a dilator portion having a tube and a dilator hub. When such a catheter introducer is used, the dilator portion is set in the sheath portion and the dilator and sheath portions are inserted into a blood vessel via a guide wire.
The dilator and sheath portions can be easily inserted when they are simultaneously rotated during insertion. In a conventional catheter introducer, no means for simultaneously rotating the sheath and dilator portions is included. In such a conventional catheter introducer, in order to insert the assembly of sheath and dilator portions into a blood vessel while preventing rotation between the sheath and dilator portions, the hubs in the two portions must either be clamped together, or the tube of the dilator portion must be firmly clamped at a position above the sheath of the sheath portion so as to simultaneously rotate the two portions, thus resulting in a complex procedure. Yet, even if such a complex operation is performed, only the sheath portion can be inserted, the dilator portion being impeded by resistance of tissue or the like.